KH Shipping Challenge: XigLux
by cxvxs
Summary: Two-shot. Xigbar and Luxord's relationship. Slight fluff, some seriousness, and a little humor.
1. Chapter 1

Xigbar/Luxord

Humor/General

* * *

In which Luxord is being contemplative and Xigbar is looking for a target to practice on. He pushes Luxord out of his chair, Luxord falls and the games begin.

This is a two-shot.

* * *

The meeting had ended long ago and the Nobodies dismissed. The Superior left first, as always, quick to make his escape to who knows where. Next had been Saix, who always seemed to be waiting for a chance to hand out assignments and had been given the perfect excuse. The others had filed out one by one after that. Axel quickly followed Saix, never far behind him even as they kept their distance now that the two former friends had joined. Marluxia was next, seeming amused as he chatted leisurely with Larxene. Demyx had chosen to escape as quickly as he could after that, wanting nothing more than to go goof off. He'd been changed too young, at the crux of his life, and as such didn't seem to know what to do with himself or where he belonged. After that, the others had left but Luxord had long since stopped paying attention. His mind was elsewhere, far away from the Organization and it's members. No, he was contemplating why he joined in the first place.

* * *

_He had been from a small town in a world none of the Organization had deemed worthy of visiting until it was overrun with Heartless. After that, the Superior had sent two members to search it to see if they couldn't find another like him. He would never forget that day as long as he lived. Well, if you could call his existence now 'living' which was certainly not what he considered it to be. He'd been with his family, his eight younger brothers and his baby sister. His mother was still in bed, recovering from the latest cold to waylay her. After giving birth and raising ten children, she no longer had the strength to fight off a simple cold. Not that she couldn't still keep her brood in line, even bedridden. His father was returning from the market, which they on the edge of toward the center of the village. Luxord, then Rolud, had been tasked with watching his siblings as he was the oldest._

_He was calling to the twins, trying to get them from tackling their father and upsetting the bundle in his arms, when it happened. The screams started, first in the middle of town but quickly rushing towards them like a wave. His father stiffened, dropped the bundle and ignored the spilled contents, which probably contained what was supposed to be their food for the week. He began shoving his sons toward him, who quickly grabbed his brothers and ushered them inside. He picked up the younger ones and carried them inside, glancing back just in time to see them. Strange black creatures with creepy glowing yellow eyes coming for them. His father brushed past him, grabbing the other children and running with them inside. Putting the siblings he was carrying down inside, Lux had closed the door, barring it to stop the creatures from accessing and killing his family as he'd seen them doing to others outside. His father ran to the back, to be with his wife and protect his beloved. It fell on his shoulders, then, to protect his siblings. When the creatures came spilling in through the weak wooden door, it was him that they met with first and it was him who fought to protect his family. Not that it did any good. As a fourteen year old boy, he had merely been devastated by the tidal wave of Heartless and become…what he was today, a Nobody._

_When Xaldin and Xigbar came looking for signs of Nobodies, they hadn't found any trace of his village. In an attempt to kill off the creatures, someone or maybe a group of people, had burned the whole town to the ground. It hadn't made a difference. When Luxord emerged a Nobody, the Heartless were gone and so was any sign of life in the place beside the crackling fire. He let the fire burn itself out, watching as his childhood home was reduced to a charred skeletal frame of what it once was. He was standing in the midst of it when they found him. It had been them who dragged him away from the devastation, them who had offered to take him to the Superior. It was the Superior who finally explained to him what had happened, what he was. At the time, when the Superior offered him a place in the Organization, he'd accepted without thinking. He wanted a way to reverse this, he wanted a way to reverse the Heartless and not just the Nobodies. He was desperately clinging to the hope that he might one day be reunited with his family again._

* * *

Listening to the Superior today, Luxord was beginning to doubt that would ever happen. He had no thoughts on betraying the Organization. He was still loyal only to Organization XIII but that was more because he had no where else to go, no one else to turn to. He couldn't help but wonder if things had been different, would he have chosen a different path? Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Xigbar appearing behind him, didn't see the mischievous look in his good eye or the grin covering his face. He didn't even notice that he wasn't alone anymore until he felt the hand on his back, propelling him forward. Suddenly falling out of that large Organization chair, Luxord did what he did best. He slowed time so that he would hit the floor rather softly instead of the hard thud the prankster had no doubt envisioned for him. He glared at Xigbar when he landed, which seemed only moments later but had taken an eternity for him.

"Bloody hell. What was that all about?" No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than he was pelted with a dart gun by the grinning ponytailed man.

"Tag! You're it!" He cackled, disappearing from the room. The game was on.

Luxord hotfooted after him, grinning like he hadn't done in years. Xigbar tended to have that effect on him. He relaxed, loosened up, and generally just _let go_.


	2. Chapter 2

Luxord/Xigbar

Hurt/Comfort/Angst

* * *

Luxord thinks back and remembers how things used to be. As one of the last surviving members of the Organization, he has much to reminisce on before he goes on his final mission-to fight Sora. XigLux friendship, slight one-sided feelings.

Also, I never played any of the KH games, so since I couldn't find the order in which the members died, I'm going by what I heard; that Xigbar dies before Luxord.

* * *

Luxord sat in his chair again but this time, there would be no prankster to push him out of his chair. II, Xigbar, was long gone. The Nobody has faded to nothingness, which was all any of them were anyway. He couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't be happy for his friend; he'd gotten the death he always wished for after all. The one thing he complained about was his 'fear' that he would 'die a boring death' but that hadn't been the case. No, his wish came true and his death was anything but boring; at least, in the older Nobody's eyes it wouldn't have been. Luxord couldn't see the draw to having an exciting death but he had clung to this not-life he had in hopes it would one day lead back to his life. Now, contemplative again, he wondered if it wouldn't be so bad to have an exciting death.

He thought back to that day, so long ago it felt and yet it had only been a couple months, when he'd been rudely pushed out of his seat. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear the hoarse, almost cackling laugh and feel the darts that pelted him. He remembered following Xigbar, both of them trying to use their powers to one-up the other. Xigbar's power over space almost perfectly complimented his power over time. Perhaps that's why they got along so well. He'd use his powers of time to try to catch Xigbar whenever he found him but the higher ranking Nobody was often to quick for him, whooshing out of sight with his powers. That game of tag had been the longest one they'd played, lasting several hours. He'd manage to tag Xigbar only to be tagged back much too quickly from the side, from behind, from above, and once, his ankle was grabbed from below. It ended when their game upset one of Vexen's experiments, almost setting Marluxia's garden on fire. Perhaps they could have gotten away with that, they were good at running away and leaving the blame to fall on others after all, if they hadn't run into Saix as they were making their escape. When Luxord bumped into him and Xigbar slammed into Luxord's back, toppling all three and sending papers everywhere, the shout of rage from Saix had echoed through Castle Oblivion.

Luxord chuckled as he remembered Xigbar trying to escape on his own, planning on leaving Luxord to deal with the bluenette on his own. Not that he blamed him; he would have done the same if it meant avoiding dealing with the Berserker. In the end, they had been forced to help Vexen clean up his lab, which Luxord made sure to make quick work of by speeding up their movements in time. They'd been exhausted later of course, that was the price for finishing several hours of work so quickly, but the two friends had laughed gaily over the days events as they collapsed on the bed in II's room. It had been years since Luxord came to visit his room, just to talk, to listen, to be together with the older male. They'd skipped dinner, afraid of running into one of the still glowering members upset with them over their game, in favor of laying there and talking about old times. When he was asked why he had been so lost in thought during the meeting, Luxord hesitantly admitted his thoughts. He worded it carefully, always making sure to emphasis that he had no intention of leaving or betraying the Organization. Even here, enveloped in their strange friendship, Luxord never forgot that Xigbar was still Xemnas' right hand man for a reason, even if he had put Saix in charge. One wrong word, one intention not in line, and he was sure that the other Nobody would forsake their friendship and betray him to the Superior.

Xigbar listened silently, his good eye raking over Luxord for any sign of falsehood or betrayal. Having been at this longer than most of the Nobodies, as the second of the original six, he was better at telling lies from truths than most. Whatever he saw must have reassured him because he didn't immediately poof away but rolled over to look at Luxord squarely. He told him to put such thoughts out of his head, to never speak to anyone about them again, to be content in his lot. Ruffling his hand over his hair, Xigbar reassured Luxord with sweet lies that one day, he would get everything he wanted. He promised him that once the Superior found a way to return his heart, things would be better and they could spend more time _enjoying_ the mischief they created instead of just making it. With a tired yawn, he placed a small kiss to his forehead to comfort him, the only sign of affection he would ever give. Luxord lay there for a long while, listening as the Nobody's breath slowed and evened out, indicating he was asleep. For a while, he just listened to the sound of his breathing. Slowly he sat up and looked at Xigbar, sleeping peacefully and guard relaxed for once. After a moment's hesitation, he returned the gesture and gave him a brief kiss on the forehead. With a touch of regret in his eyes, he reached up a gloved hand to lightly trace Xigbar's lips, drawing back when he felt him stiffen, no doubt wondering if he was about to be smothered in his sleep. He closed his eyes briefly, pressed the glove to his lips, then stood and left the room without a backwards glance. When he returned some time later with a plate of food, the Nobody was gone. Luxord left it there for him to find, sure he would be back sooner rather than later, and left again.

Since that day, they had spent some time together. Knowing Xigbar only viewed him as a friend and perhaps a son or a nephew, Luxord contented himself in the closeness of their simple relationship. They talked, joke, laughed together and that was enough for him. He refused Xigbar's offers of lessons in how to hold and shoot a gun properly. Xigbar refused to learn how to 'properly' cheat at cards, continuing to cheat in his flamboyant way. Then Xigbar received his assignment and he went off without so much as a word to Luxord. He hadn't minded, he was the same way. They didn't say goodbye, that was their shared rule. Goodbyes were final. But Xigbar didn't come back. He never came back. This time, he'd been granted what he always sought, an interesting death. Now Luxord had his mission to go deal with the intruders. He shuffled his cards and in a rare moment, he used cartomancy. He didn't believe in fortune telling but he'd learned how to do it as a child to entertain guests and to earn some pocket change.

He would do a quick reading, choosing the Horseshoe of Fate as his spread. He arranged his cards in the shape of an arrow, three cards in each direction and one in the middle to unite them, seven in all. He overturned the first card, the card revealing how his past would influence the current situation. It's the 8 of hearts, usually referring to visitors and partings. He flipped the second card, which lists his choices and alternatives. The ten of diamonds; if he takes a journey now instead of going on the mission, he'll find a fortunate outcome. The third card represents how stable or how much instability there is in the situation. When he flips it, he finds the four of clubs, meaning a change for the worse and that lies and betrayal abound. The fourth card, the card in the middle, tells of his challenges. It's the 8 of spades. Trouble, disappoints, and plans going awry are in his future, as well as friends letting him down. The fifth card, help or hindrances, is also the eight card but this time it's of clubs. Trouble in relationships, both business and personal it seems. All he gets for the sixth card, friend or foe, is the Jack of Hearts, a fair-haired and good-natured youth. He already knows he's to deal with the intruders but perhaps this means Roxas is finally back? Now all that's left is the last card, the final outcome of today.

His hand trembles slightly when he flips it and sees it's the nine of spades. With a sigh, he pockets the card and slips from his chair. It's time to go on his mission. He doesn't believe in fortune telling. The foreboding of his cards, the feeling Lady Luck isn't on his side today, all of it is just in his head. Xigbar would laugh at him if he were here. Walking out of the room, he summons a corridor and steps through it. He has a mission to complete. He won't let anything hold him back from it, not even remembrance of an old friend and certainly not superstition.

* * *

As he felt the blow strike him, he watched the card slip out of his pocket. If betrayal hadn't stung so badly then, as the cards had warned him he would be, perhaps he would have chuckled. "How could you…Roxas?" He mutters, looking at the boy before his gaze slips back to the card. He can feel himself fading away, returning to nothingness. The nine of spades, this outcome was predicted as well. _Bad luck in all things; destruction; death._ The worst card to get and it was the final outcome. He closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.

* * *

A familiar chuckle causes him to open his eyes. He's floating in space, darkness surrounding him, but a familiar figure is with him.

"Xigbar…"

"Name's Braig now." The man laughs and the years fall away, aging him back to before he became a Nobody. He looks good, whole and human and _happy_ like this. He grins, the eye patch gone so that both eyes are twinkling with mirth. "We've been waiting for you, Lux. Took you long enough to get your ass over here."

"What's going on?"

"Well, I don't get all that sciency stuff and when that blabber mouth Even, you knew him as Vexen, tried to explain it to me I told him to shut his pie whole and go bother some other idiot. Best that I figured from what he said, we're going to a new world. One we can only get to once we've died, a place where we get our hearts back." He laughed and shrugged, holding out his hand. "Seems like those people who were consumed by the Heartless are there too. You might even find your family again. Come on Luxy-boy, everyone's waiting."

He reached out a hand and grasped Braig's, the gloves and coat fading to nothingness as he too was reversed in time. Younger now, he grinned up at Braig. "The name's Rolud, Braig."

"Let's go home, old friend." And Luxord disappeared as his Somebody was finally pulled into the light.

* * *

Final note: Yeah, the ending wasn't what I expected at all. Actually, I wasn't planning on doing that, I was just going to let it end with his canon death. u_u;; Think that might have been better actually but this little scene was begging for me to write it.


End file.
